american singer songwriter and actress phyllis linda hyman was born on july 6 1949
in philadelphia pennsylvania shortly after her birth her parents moved to pittsburgh and into
the saint claire village housing projects after the move the family grew exponentially first
born phyllis would become a big sister to six other siblings she's also the cousin of actor
earl hyman phyllis's talent for singing would take center stage in high school when she joined the
chorus her music teacher saw something special in her so he offered her private voice lessons those
lessons paid off big time when she was awarded the first ever music scholarship to a private
university in pennsylvania however she would end up dropping out one year later to pursue
singing full-time over the course of several years beginning in the late 60s and into the early 70s
she had a variety of professional experiences first she formed an all-female group called the
sounds of ebony then she embarked on her first tour with the jazz band new direction after they
split up she joined the groups all the people and the hondo beat years later phyllis would
admit that her voice was just always there even as a little girl she was a naturally outstanding
and immense vocal stylist with a mature sound oddly enough she didn't grow up with music she
didn't sing in church like many other black future vocalists there wasn't even a record player in her
childhood home she didn't listen to or study other artists her vocal training background
solely came from singing in choruses beginning in grade school and continued into college phyllis
then moved down to miami florida in 1972 to pay the bills she began singing in local clubs
the following year a job on a cruise ship would have her cross paths with jamaican singer
larry alexander when the cruise ship experience ended phyllis returned to miami with larry and
a very business savvy career plan around this time phyllis made her big screen debut in the
biographical drama film lenny it would be one of a handful of movies over the years she would
be featured in she decided to start her own band called phyllis hyman and the ph factor now seemed
as good a time as any to make the big move to the big apple phyllis would be briefly signed to
private stock records where she would release her first single called leaving the good life behind
in 1975 soon after that music industry veteran sid moore and former epics records promoter fred frank
would sign phyllis to their desert moon label under roadshow records phyllis hyman and the ph
factor landed an amazing gig at a popular upper west side restaurant the six-foot glamazon along
with her band regularly performed in front of numerous musical icons such as roberta flack and
stevie wonder one night phyllis was approached by jazz drummer composer arranger and music producer
norman connors he promised her he would be back in a week or two to get her and put her in the studio
he did just that and asked phyllis to do a cover of the 1972 hit betcha by golly wow by the
stylistics the song was featured on norman's 1976 album titled you are my starship along with a duet
between phyllis and bass guitarist and vocalist michael henderson called we both need each other
another record deal was put on the table and this time phyllis would sign with buddha records
the following year her self-titled debut album was released a couple of singles came out of
it but phyllis didn't spend much time focused on that she went right back into the studio to begin
work on her second album sing a song was released the next year however by this time buddha records
had been taken over by arista records one would think a partnership between legendary ceo clive
davis and phyllis hyman would be as great of an idea as pairing peanut butter with jelly it wasn't
to say that phyllis and clive bumped heads was an understatement phyllis was a businesswoman through
and through she wanted to do things her way and clive pushed back of course clive was very much
a businessman and his goal for her was to cross over into the pop world to get more attention
and sell more records when phyllis went back into the studio to begin work on her first project for
arista she had some company barry manilow phyllis's third album titled somewhere in
my lifetime was released in january 1979. many of the songs from the second album were included on
this one as well the title track produced by barry manilow rose all the way to the number 12 position
on the r b chart however the hit wasn't hitting enough for clive even though her career wasn't
taking off the way she wanted it to phyllis could at least enjoy the success she was experiencing
in her personal life after establishing a solid trust and love for one another
phyllis and larry alexander married her follow-up album you know how to love me
was released in october 1979. the soulful disco title track written and produced by
james and tumei and reggie lucas would soar to number 10 on the r b chart
the album also did much better on the charts than her debut which of course made the label
very happy however the competition was hot on her heels and right in her face arista started signing
several other female vocalists to their roster such as angela beaufill dion warwick
and aretha franklin while in the process of working on her next studio album the opportunity
to star in a broadway musical presented itself phyllis auditioned and landed a leading role in
duke ellington's sophisticated ladies alongside gregory hines and hinton battle she was ecstatic
clive davis not so much he didn't want her to do a broadway play but phyllis stood her ground and did
it anyway this move could very well be considered the beginning of the end of this chapter of her
life one thing about phyllis that the people who worked with her experienced quite often was her
need to be in control control equaled comfort for her and was what she needed to feel safe she was
oftentimes combative especially with label head clive phyllis was even bold enough to speak ill
of him in the press show up late for meetings and also referred to him as a plantation owner
there was a cycle with phyllis she would get insecure and self-sabotage then be resentful of
her failure compared to the success of women she knew weren't more talented than she was and then
lash out she was equally frustrated with failure and scared of success phyllis would receive a tony
award nomination for best supporting actress and a musical for her role in sophisticated ladies
she wouldn't win that award however she would win a theater world award for best newcomer
soon after her fifth studio album can't we fall in love again would be released in june 1981.
the album would give phyllis another top 10 r b hit with the title track another duet with
michael henderson she also appeared on several movie soundtracks did a lot of guest vocal work
for other artists and delved into the world of television commercials 200 million people
no two are quite the same each doing things their own way each plays a different
game but folks who like things their way will they come to burger king
with everything or nothing at all yes america loves burgers at america's burger king
not everything was sunshine and rainbows though in the life of phyllis hyman the rigorous performance
schedule of the play and simultaneously working on her album took its toll her marriage also faltered
and her and larry divorced they had no children in 1983 after the two-year run of sophisticated
ladies came to an end phyllis walked away knowing that she was going to be taking a
new approach to her music career her sixth album and what would be her last with arista
goddess of love dropped in may of that year things between phyllis and clive were worse than ever
part of phyllis's new approach to her career involved new management as well her new team hired
a new fashion stylist that created what would become phyllis's signature look the following
year after arista signed a young up-and-coming r b singer from new jersey by the name of whitney
houston phyllis was dropped from the label the dismissal may have bruised her ego however around
this time an amazing acting opportunity had come her way phyllis landed the role of suge avery
the mistress of celie's abusive husband in the coming of age period drama film the color purple
apparently phyllis ended up losing the role because she turned off everyone she came
in contact with including director steven spielberg and potential co-stars whoopi goldberg
oprah winfrey and danny glover the idea of being trapped with her for many months in north carolina
while shooting the film was just too much to bear so after the role was offered to other
entertainers such as tina turner diana ross and patti labelle phyllis was ultimately replaced
by actress and singer margaret avery phyllis would turn her attention back to her music
and go on to sign a new deal with philadelphia international records her first project with them
her seventh album titled living all alone was released in august 1986 the breakout hit
of the album was the tile track that peaked at the number 12 position on the r b chart
the song definitely spoke to what phyllis was experiencing in real life over the years she
tried but failed to maintain healthy relationships with men another track off the album that really
spoke to her heart was old friend written by fellow pennsylvania native linda creed
she wrote the song specifically for phyllis before her death from breast cancer in 1986
phyllis continued to be overcome with emotion and cry every time she performed the song phyllis was
also dealing with her fair share of struggles she battled with her weight her addictions to
alcohol and cocaine and was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder she entered rehab in
1986 and came out with what appeared to be a new lease on life however she would soon
stop taking her medication and continued using substances sex and food for comfort in june 1990
phyllis was rushed to the hospital after taking an overdose of sleeping pills six months later she
went back to rehab her next album appropriately titled prime of my life dropped in june 1991.
it was her first in five years and it would turn out to be the most successful of her career the
single don't want to change the world would be her first number one r b hit however phyllis
would have to deal with more personal blows in the next several years her mother and grandmother
would both pass away in 1993 then in 1994 when she was trying to revive her acting career she
became sidelined for many weeks after breaking her foot her financial situation was also in shambles
alcohol drugs and food once again became her crutch on the afternoon of june 30th 1995
six days before her 46th birthday phyllis took her own life by overdosing on a mixture of sleeping
pills and alcohol in the bedroom of her new york city apartment her suicide note read in part i'm
tired she had instructed her assistants to wake her in time for a sound check hours before she was
scheduled to perform at the apollo theater when they arrived the door was locked from the inside
after breaking in they found her in bed and unconscious she was pronounced dead at the
hospital in november 1995 five months after her death phyllis hyman's ninth studio album titled
i refuse to be lonely was released three years later a second posthumous album of previously
unreleased material titled forever with you was also released since her transition there hasn't
been much said or written about phyllis that is until 2007 when her authorized biography
in cooperation with her estate was released called strength of a woman the phyllis hyman story
even though she ultimately chose to end her life on her terms before doing so phyllis
ensured that she left a legacy of beautiful music that will last and live on forever
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